French (MFL)

In French, the children will leave Foulds having developed their knowledge, skills and understanding of the French language as laid down in the National Curriculum to the maximum of their potential. Their confidence in speaking and listening, and writing of the French language will harbour an interest in learning a foreign language in KS3 and beyond. All children, including our French speakers, will have been supported, extended and challenged in French.

The children’s character will also evolve, due to the French experiences and activities we provide. The children are encouraged to listen and to question and to develop Foulds values such as resilience, respect and teamwork during French lessons, as well as a growth mindset. We want to nurture our children’s curiosity and interest in the French language, so that they have a lifelong appreciation of the cultural differences of other countries. We want children to value and respect other languages and cultures. They will have an awareness of the impact that all individuals, including themselves, have on their communities.

During their time in KS2, the children access a stimulating, challenging and creative curriculum, which ensures that they all make rapid progress.
Lessons are taught by knowledgeable teachers using a wide range of resources.
Accurate pronunciation and intonation is developed using film and sound clips of native speakers, such as Early Start French, linguascope.com, bbc learning zone clips and youtube clips.
Children can be extended in a number of ways. For example, they are encouraged to write from memory (rather than relying on a word bank) when completing written tasks.
In addition to the expected differentiation, lessons are also designed to cater for those children who speak French at home. A variety of resources is available for this including https://www.teachitlanguages.co.uk/
The expectation is that French is taught at least once a week in Years 3 to 6.
In Y5/6 French is taught through different topics for the Odd and Even cycle.
In Y3/4 The same topics are taught in both the Odd and Even cycle which enables pupils in Y4 to consolidate their learning from Y3 more effectively. Y4 pupils are challenged further through use of differentiated resources and teacher expectation e.g writing more sentences.
Attainment, Progress and Effort grades are given for each child’s annual report. A short comment on each pupil’s performance in French should is given to their class teacher.